I read somewhere that 5% of adults in the developed world meditate. Whether this is true or not I don't know, but you can guarantee that most of these people began meditating to achieve a calmer mind.

What most people aren't aware of is that while a calmer mind is one of the benefits of meditation, it is not what the practice is actually for.

First you work on the body, relaxing muscular tensions. You will find eventually that everytime you have a thought, it creates an actual physical tension, usually somewhere in and around the spine and brain (CNS). As your mind gradually becomes clearer, your body will move more fluidly, and you will be able to let go of unhealthy emotions and feelings.

Then one day your mind relaxes completely and you are suddenly hit by how the mind and body are supposed to work. In psychology this is called a peak experience. It feels like your body vibrates from your feet to your head, and you'll feel absolutely fantastic. You may have had such experiences spontaneously even if you don't meditate.

This vibration which you will actually sense physically will feel like an army of ants are marching up your spine and flowing out of the top of your head. Yogis call it the kundalini, the proper use of prana. It is your chi/ki and when you feel this sensation it is flowing at a very high level (I'm aware that some many know this already so please forgive me if you find it at all condescending).

The true purpose of meditation is to open this vibration and have it flowing 24/7. As ridiculous as it sounds to a non practitioner, it's the truth. We are dealing with a vibration that you will feel physically. Without it, there is no chance of awakening to find peace.

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Sticks n stones'll break my bones, but if I land the first one, you're in trouble!

Don't you think the 'real purpose' of meditation might be different for each individual? That, like MA, it depends on the person? Don't know what 5% of the 'developed world' is, but it seems that the general makeup of the MAist found on internet forums might be more concerned with 'pragmatic' or tangibly useful aspects of meditation. Like, developing focus, or equinimity (sp?)...for fighting.

Right on. My opinion guys (and the opinion of quite a few who are seen as "masters"). I forgot the disclaimer this time.

Developing focus will cause the kundalini to open or vice versa. The thing is that most people see focus as something you do. If you're trying to focus, then you will only be able to do so for a short period of time (this is what usually happens when people meditate, they never seem to get past the concentration part). Your mind focuses naturally when you have no thoughts, therefore you will have no unnecessary bodily tensions, and therefore your body will be vibrating like it naturally does, with quite an intensity. The skills that are desired for fighting such as awareness or balance will improve vastly when ki is flowing properly and you are vibrating, and breathing properly.

But what do I know, just a random leprechaun. I could be spinning quite a yarn. I swear that I feel this vibration, but I may also be insane (or maybe someone has fitted me with a love egg during my sleep!). Maybe there's a further reason for meditation I am yet to discover. So many unknowns.

I don't encourage anyone to believe what you read on a forum, as a matter of fact never believe anything unless you have had direct experience of it. Just be open to the fact that it's possible. When it comes to the truth, I don't know either.

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Sticks n stones'll break my bones, but if I land the first one, you're in trouble!

Quote:I swear that I feel this vibration, but I may also be insane (or maybe someone has fitted me with a love egg during my sleep!). Maybe there's a further reason for meditation I am yet to discover. So many unknowns.

When I was in my early 20s I remember noticing that, with concentration, I could produce a "tingly", "goosebumps", "ants up the spine and in the back of the neck/head" type feeling.

I started to cultivate this sensation, in the belief (or desire to believe) that I had cottoned onto something special - qi or some such thing. I might be wrong, but I strongly suspect that this is the same as what you feel.

To this day I can create that sensation at whim (sustaining it for longer than one minute is difficult however).

I don't think this equates to the kundalini experience (judging by what my good mate James - a sahaja yoga practitioner of 20 years - tells me).

In the end I'm fairly sure that this sensation of "qi" was nothing more than a self-inflicted bout of goosebumps; a manufactured "fight or flight" response perhaps? I'm not sure. But it has not helped me one iota in any meaningful sense (where other types of meditation have for very different reasons).

I'm quite certain that you are talking about something different. You say you never got any real benefits from your vibrations and that it is hard to sustain for longer than a minute. In my case, this experience isn't something I induce but one that happens for more than 3/4 of the day. It stops if I feel a strong emotion, and may I have remember to remember to get it going again but just feeling the emotion reminds me. The best part is that when it flows, it completely rids me of that emotion and I feel great.

When I was spending my meditations opening the kundalini, I could have reported the same sensations as you. I found however, that with time the vibrations became much faster than I had anticipated. One night while watching television, I realised that I was vibrating more powerfully than before at my heart level, this caused quite a bit of internal pressure which I conciously released. The vibration then shot up to the top of my scalp where it was again released and the instant I did so, my awareness expanded in a enormous way through a full 360 degrees, and for the first time in my life, I woke up. I was having an experience of conciousness, which I now know your yoga friend would call samadhi. It felt as if a light bulb had been lit up in the centre of my head and that I had a halo. I actually had what felt like a halo! I realised that the vibration was always there, I had just been taught to block it out, but now I vibrated the same way in which a guitar string will vibrate when the same note is hit on a nearby instrument. My body became like an antenna and conciousness no longer had to be forced, but was gratefully received.

After such experiences, the ego does come back but has a weaker grip and most begin to systematically hack away at the unnecessary thinking and stressing because they now have a very definite goal. Ever since then I have no choice in the matter, my body vibrates as does the world around me, and life is infinitely more satisfying.

Maybe I had some form of neurological damage or something, but I later learned that my experience was quite a common one, especially amongst those who do yoga. Even if this whole enlightenment idea is a load of crap, it sure as hell makes life more interesting.

The yogis and enlightened masters of the past intimate that not every person who has opened the kundalini is awakened, but every person who has ever been awakened has opened it, or it has opened because they woke up. Remember if you THINK you're in the moment, you're actually a fraction of a second in the past.

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Sticks n stones'll break my bones, but if I land the first one, you're in trouble!

The first purpose of meditation (as it relates to MA), is self-awareness. That awareness leads to increased physiological self-control. The application of mediatation is sub-consciously being aware and increaced control of irregular breathing, tension and stress effects caused from fear or high stress/emotional situations.

Too much intentional meditation, runs the risk of isolationism tendency and other subtle (or not so subtle) social weirdness effects. I believe one side-effect of hours upon hours of solo intential mediation becomes a self-fullfilling act. that is, what the person believes they will get out of it, they convince themselves they are on their way to obtaining. They are subconsciously fullfilling their preconceptions, as oppossed to being open to accept what the experience has to offer (if anything).

'meditation' doesn't have to be sitting on a pillow for hours. people can and do meditate when they train. over time, they become self-aware of the same things I mentioned and learn to temper the disadvantage effects of fear and anxiety. They may not consciously try to do so, it may be inherent in their training. Boxing is a good example. staying loose and breathing smooth without letting yorself be overwhemlmed by the fear of getting hit. long distance runners have similar inherent meditation. staying loose, in control of breathing, pacing without allowing anxiety of the race disrupt efficiency.

One school of thought, is to engage in meditation as a separate activity. another thought is to meditate during the activity.

If the quest in your meditation is spiritual, I don't know much about that aspect of it....but I suspect any activity, observation or awareness can be 'spiritual', since the use of the word and it's meaning is undefined and wide open to interpretation....which is why it's a perfect vehicle for many to use meditation to fullfill their preconceptions - with full conviction that it works for them. About pursuing the spiritual route, I'd only warn of self-deception.

I agree with meditating during activity. I've found this to be the case with taiji practise. The form requires intense mental discipline which equates to maintaining an alpha wave brain state - similar if not the same as meditation.

On the other hand I can't say I've experienced any amazing feeling/sensation along the lines described by jkdwarrior.